Support for Early Career Researchers

The College of Science and Engineering provides significant support for our Early Career Researchers, from PhD students to Postdoctoral Research Associates and Early Career Lecturers.

The Research and Business Development team are always willing to discuss the opportunities that exist for ECRs and to provide input and feedback on research proposals.

Contact Research Support

Professional development opportunities

Including career development in your research proposal

Many grant proposals, such as New Investigator Awards and Fellowships, expect the proposed programme of work to include a framework to support the career development of the applicant.

This short seminar led by Elizabeth Adams, Researcher Development Manager, and Katrina Gardner, Careers Manager (Research Staff and Students), will help you consider your career development and how you can build it into your research activities. Although focused on Future Leader Fellowship applications, this seminar is relevant for any proposal where career development is to be included.

If you would like to discuss this aspect of your proposal please get in touch with any of the Research and Business Development Managers.

Peer Mentoring Programme

Are you an early career researcher/postdoctoral research associate? Or have you almost completed your PhD and are thinking about a fellowship as the next step for your career?

Our Fellowship Peer Mentoring Programme will help you find out more about what’s expected of applicants and how to develop your track record to position yourself for a prestigious fellowship.

The programme will help you to develop a fellowship application, while getting feedback from Senior Academics and you’ll gain experience of peer review.

We provide guidance on how to prepare for every section of the application, including:

  • track record
  • case for support
  • embedding impact.

Visit the Early Career Development Programme (ECDP) page to find out more.

To register interest, email scieng-submit@glasgow.ac.uk.

Useful information

Pairing Scheme (The Royal Society)

The Pairing Scheme enables research scientists to be paired with parliamentarians and civil servants to gain insight into how parliament and government work and how to use research findings to inform policy making.

The scheme includes 30 research scientists in each round. Research Professional - further information.  

Policy Secondment Programme (The Royal Society)

The following information is subject to change. The Policy Secondment Programme enables university research and Dorothy Hodgkin fellows to undertake a policy secondment in a science policy environment.

Two secondments lasting three months are available. Research Professional - further information.

Grant writing

If you are currently writing a proposal for a grant and would like assistance from the College of Science and Engineering's Research and Business Development managers via the contact form (insert link) or directly by email.

The team can help develop your proposal and provide feedback and comments on drafts to strengthen the application.

They have helped with hundreds of proposals and have a wealth of knowledge that you may find beneficial.

Hints and Tips for grant and fellowship writing

  • Proposal writing checklist and tips
  • Tips for fellowships applications
  • Track records tips

ECR Proposal writing workshops and “Rewards for Excellence”

Guidance

At the launch event ECRs are presented to by senior academics and other ECRs who have recently been through the same process. They share their hints and tips for both developing their track record and presenting it.

Write

Participants are given a period of time to develop their own proposal, in stages, which should then be submitted to the college. These documents are then allocated to participants for peer review.

Review

We bring participants together for a workshop where each participant will generally lead on the review of one proposal and be second reviewer for another. This provides them with experience of peer review and is a great way to learn good practice and spot bad practice. At the end of the workshop, we finish up with another guidance session where senior researchers share their experience and tips for writing the full technical case for support. For the participants the process continues… write their case for support, workshop to review submissions, then guidance on Pathways to Impact, write the pathways to impact and finish with a review workshop on pathways to impact.

In advance of each review session participants must prepare their reviews in the EPSRC reviewer template and share with the PI.

Review workshops are chaired by Professors from across the College and are excellent opportunities to gain feedback from those who have been successful securing funding.

At the end of the Pathways to impact review workshop there is a guidance session on Data Management from the library and a general overview of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of submitting a proposal within the University; who, what, when!

Application/proposal submission

To apply ECRs must submit a full research proposal that will be reviewed by a cross-college panel. The best proposals selected will receive funding.

Proposals to be emailed to scieng-submit@glasgow.ac.uk (deadline to be confirmed).

Rewards for excellence

Once individuals have been through the Proposal Writing Workshops and have an almost complete grant application – they are invited to prepare the additional documentation required for proposals and submit to the College Rewards for Excellence initiative.

The Rewards for Excellence initiative is an opportunity to receive College funding (up to the value of £10k). This is to be used for vital equipment, materials or activities which will strengthen your current research or laboratory. You should also demonstrate how you will use this award to leverage external funding.

We use the EPSRC specification to define an Early Career Researcher. This is a broad definition and will include:

  • fellows
  • recently appointed staff in their first academic position
  • researchers who are not considered “established”.

Applying for ECR Fellowships

Visit our Fellowships page to find out more about applying for ECR Fellowships.

Career

Useful information

ECDP